jennings



(MbdelQ A. G. JENNINGS.

ROLLER FOR COTTON GINS AND ANALOGOUS MACHINES.

110,245,072; Patented Aug. '2, 1881.

N. PETERS. PhokoLiLhogn-upher. Washmglon n.c.

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM e. JENNINGS, OF BROOKLYN, NEw YORK.

ROL LER FOR COTTON-GINS AND ANALOGOUS, MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.. 245,072, dated August2, 1881.

Application filedJanuary 19,1881. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, ABRAHAM G. JENNINGS, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin the Rollers for Ootton-Gins and Analogous Machines, of which thefollow-- ing is a specification.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cottongin containing my invention.Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view, partly in section, of the roller; Fig.3, a cross-section of the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in the-construction of theroller which is used in cotton-gins of the kindillustrated in LettersPatent No. 185,452, and in other cotton-gins and analogous machinesemploying such rollers for conducting the cotton to be liberated of thel seed or otherwise conducting fibrous matter.

These rollers heretofore have generally been made of wood or metalcovered withleather or rubber, or both, presenting a rough surface, topermit the convenientv seizing and pulling away of the fiber of thecotton from the'seed by a metal blade brought close to the roller,

which separates the seeds from the lint. In some cases rollersconstructed of disks of wood have been proposed. If this revolvingroller becomes smooth, as it invariably does, after greater or lesslength of time, the lint or fiber of the cotton will no longer adhere toit sufficiently to be drawn. away from the seed, and it then fails to doits work and renders the gin useless.

It is a cause of common complaint that the rollers of cotton-gins soonwear smooth, and this is likewise the cause that roller cotton-. ginshave not as yet been introduced as freely as they would but for'thisdefect. The surface of such roller has to be roughened up from time totime, sprinkled with sand or poundedpumicestone, and soon must be.entirely renewed.

Myimprovement consists in constructing the roller-sections ofparticularly fibrous wood, placed so that the fibers of the wood will beradial to the roller and present their ends at their outercircumference, thus producing a self-renewing brushy surface. I muchprefer for this purpose the wood of the palmetto tree, because it has acoarse fiber with the interstices filled with a chalky substance, whichwill wear away sooner than the fiber itself. Therefore, in use theexposed surface of the roller will be apt to remain rough, and always inproper condition for use.

Of course I do not limit myself to the use of the palmetto-wood, which,as stated, I much prefer; but the palm, sugar-cane, or cocoanut trees orother fibrous woods or vegetables of these genera or species having likeopen structure will frequently be found of great advantage. The mostfavorable construction is that indicated in Fig. 3, where the roller isshown to be constructed of an inner shaft, A, carrying a suitablesleeve, B, that is embraced by the segmental pieces 0 (l of thepalmetto-wood. These segmental pieces, as already stated, are so cutthat'the fiber of the palmetto-wood will extend radially through themand have its ends exposed at the outer circumference of the roller.Suitable feathers, a, may be formed on the shaft or on the sleeve, toprevent the segments of wood from revolving loose on the shaft. The barkof the palmetto-tree will answer almost as well as the wood properitself, or 1 may use alternate segmental sections of wood and bark,taking care always to have the fiber of both extend radially to theroller. Leather may be interlaid with these sections of palmettowood, orordinary wood may be interlaid with the sections, according to the gradeof material to be treated in the gin or other machine. The sections ofthe palmetto-wood are suitably glued or otherwise secured together andfirmly attached to the shaft, so as to revolve together with the same,or to the sleeve that revolves on the shaft.

' The shaft may be made of polygonal form, if desired, to more readilyfacilitate the application of the segmental pieces of the palmettowood.

The important part of the invention, and that which makes the rollereffective, is that the brushy ends of the fibers always presentthemselves at the surface of the roller, and it is these brushy endsthat give efficacy to the roller, in that they impart to the 'roller acontinuously brushy surface, which is most admirably adapted to theseizing of the cotton lint, and to its retention when the lint is to bepulled away from the seed.

The circumference of the roller may be quite cylindrical, or smallgrooves may be cut in it an inch, more or less, apart. Such grooves areindicated in Fig. 2. They may run spirally around the roller or be ofother suitable form.

The roller will never polish or wear smooth like the material now inuse, will be exceedingly durable, and can be attached to all rollercotton-gins of usual or suitable construction, such as the gin known asthe McCarthy gin, the Osgood gin/ and other roller cotton-gins, and alsoto other machinery for carrying fibers, such as nappingmachines and thelike.

I am aware that polished hard-wood rollers, constructed of segments ofhard wood around a shaft, have already been described in English PatentNo. 310 of 1854. Such rollers 1 distinctly disclaim, and also all othersmooth-surface rollers, as my invention has reference only to rollersthat have a rough surface, which in 20 use, instead of becoming polishedand smooth, will always remain brushy and adherent to fibroussubstances.

I claim- The rough-surface roller constructed of seg- 25 mental sections0 G of palmetto-wood, said sections being arranged around a centralshaft and so formed from the wood that the fibers traverse themradially, thereby exposing the brushy ends of the sections at thecircumfer- 3o ence of the roller, both when the roller is used and afterit has been used, substantially as described.

ABRAHAM G. JENNINGS.

Witnesses:

WILLY G. E. SCHULTZ, WILLIAM H. 0. SMITH.

